Chamber meets at historical site

Draper is a small town with a railroad and ties to the Baltimore Road that carried many travelers from north to south and south to north. The Red Horse Tavern on Great Road, just west of Draper, was a stop for travelers, as was Newbern on the Wilderness Road or Rock Road.

If history could talk, interesting conversations from such notables as Andrew Jackson, Daniel Boone and many other leaders of the budding nation might be heard. Stagecoaches stopped at the Red Horse Tavern, which is why the road was also called the old Stagecoach Road.

The Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce will again hold its 2016 Membership Meeting tonight at Draper Mercantile, a historic site in that community.

Pulaski, Wythe and Montgomery counties are filled with early history of the new country, and often some of that history is uncovered in strange locations. Recently, a trove of historical documents was found in what used to be the Bank of Draper. At one time, Draper also had a mayor and town council.

The chamber will honor a number of individuals and groups tonight who have made advances that benefit the county. It will also be a time to install chamber officers for the coming year, and hear a report of events and advances during 2016.

The occasion will not only be a social event, but visitors may have opportunities to see some of the many documents discovered while renovating the old bank that once housed the Draper Fire Department.

History of the area continues to unfold through such findings and research. What a legacy we have, and too often don’t know it or fail to appreciate it.